Migrant Worker Rights Violations in Qatar

Briefing for the Universal Periodic Review Pre-Session 47 (2024).

At Qatar’s last Universal Periodic Review in 2019, it received 52 recommendations related to the protection of migrant workers, supporting 39 and noting 13. Yet Qatar demonstrated a weak record of implementing recommendations, including on existing worker protection laws on recruitment fees and wage theft. As a result, migrant workers continue to experience significant rights violations – including discrimination, forced labour conditions, and exposure to serious health risks. Combined with barriers to freedom of association, migrant workers face intimidation, threats for reporting violations, and lack remedy and access to justice. In construction, hospitality, security, and domestic and care work, workers report abusive workplace conditions, particularly related to exposure to excessive heat without proper occupational health and safety precautions. Despite Qatar’s initiatives with the ILO to streamline grievance mechanisms and strengthen labour inspections, rights violations remain largely unchecked.